​President Obama on Monday submitted a plan to the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction (also known as the Super Committee) that, in addition to many other provisions, contains the increased funding necessary to maintain the current maximum Pell Grant award for 10 years.

The plan proposes no cuts to spending for higher education, based on currently available details.

The president’s proposal is intended to cover the cost of the American Jobs Act (which includes $5 billion in funding for community college infrastructure, employer tax breaks and other measures) and reduce the deficit by an additional $3 trillion over 10 years. The savings come from reductions in mandatory spending including Medicare and Medicaid, the drawdown of troops in Iraq and Afghanistan and adjustments to various aspects of the tax code.

Standing congressional committees have until Oct. 13 to present other debt reduction plans to the bipartisan Super Committee for its consideration. The Super Committee then has until Nov. 23 to identify $1.5 trillion in cuts to the federal budget over the next 10 years. If Congress does not pass the committee's plan by Dec. 22, automatic budget cuts go into effect in 2013.

Other ACE News

The Washington Post and Inside Higher Ed cover the Senate’s failure to pass legislation protecting Dreamers . . . The New York Times reports that Senate leaders are reconsidering the ban on Pell Grants for prisoners . . . The Detroit Free Press...

ACE announced today that Judith S. White, president and executive director of HERS, will receive the 2018 Donna Shavlik Award. The award will be presented at ACE2018, ACE’s 100th Annual Meeting in Washington, DC.

Higher education, policy, and business leaders from eight countries including the United States met in Washington, DC, earlier this month to share lessons, policies, and promising practices to improve postsecondary outcomes for underserved students.